WASHINGTON, Oct. 28 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Barack Obama warned Tuesday that returning healthcare workers should only be monitored "in a prudent fashion" and not be discouraged from going to West Africa to help curb Ebola outbreaks.
"We got to make sure that those workers who are willing and able and dedicated to go over there in a really tough job, that they're applauded, thanked and supported. That should be our priority," Obama said.
"We don't want to discourage our health care workers from going to the front lines and dealing with this in an effective way."
Obama made the remarks after mandatory quarantine policies for healthcare workers put in place by New York, New Jersey and other U.S. states drew criticism from medical experts.
Obama said the U.S. should react based on science and best practices rather than fears.
"If we do then we're just putting another barrier on somebody who's already doing really important work on our behalf. And that' s not something that I think any of us should want to see happen," he said.
Obama said he will meet Wednesday with doctors and public health workers who've returned from fighting the disease in West Africa and who are about to go there.
On Monday, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued updated guidelines, urging people considered "high-risk" for Ebola to voluntarily stay at home for 21 days after returning from Ebola-stricken West African countries.
Obama also responded to a question as to the isolation of a dozen U.S. soldiers returning from working in West Africa.
"We don't expect to have similar rules for our military as we do for civilians," he said. "They are already, by definition, if they're in the military, under more circumscribed conditions."
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